A Fury of Memory - Villain Novella II

Chapter 1

This chapter continues directly after the events of Villain in the Canvas....

As the canvas engulfs my vision I dive, like a submarine, below the surface of one reality into the next. The fabric of the couch cushion below my forearms dissolve to cold stones, sticks, and mud that squelches between grasping fingers. In the distance the chimes are fainter; my balance off-kilter, my muscles jelly as I roll to my back, eyes searching the rainy sky replacing the ceiling. I try to raise up but nothing happens, my body no longer responding to my commands. My unfamiliar stiff muscles quiver as a cool mist lands on my face.

"Hey bro, you doing alright?..." I hear Patrick in the distance, but this wasn't the campsite where I beheaded Hog head, it was daytime and I was lying in a field outside the woods. 

The think clouds blanketing the sky formed the shapes of alligators and snakes. The clouds were violent in their consumption of each other. An alligator with widespread jaws inhales the a snake trying to twist away.  Pat's full-blown pupils fills the sky and view of fluffy cannibalistic reptiles that were disassembling each other above.

"Hey bro, I already know you will say no but you should try this, it will wake you the fuck up. Put some pep in your step and get you moving again, we are almost there."

"Almost where?" my voice sounded strange, probably from just coming to. 

After clapping me on the back Pat proudly presents a prescription bottle, pops the top and sticks the pointy end of his pocket knife inside. This maneuver looked all the more impressive since his legs wavered like he was about to fall over, the white powder somehow balancing on the shiny surface. Bringing it up to his nose he throws his head back then looks at me, an expression of excitement waved over his face. 

"The ultimate test, that is where. Let's see what treasures can be found."

He was shaking from anticipation, fully invested in whatever scheme he had been plotting. It was common for Patrick to commit to an idea full force but this was different, he was acting without any planning or forethought. It was unlike him and that worried me, scared me even.

As Pat reaches out for me through the layered mist I still have no control over my body. An eerie tinge passes through me as I observe my clothes look familiar but not mine.  My arm finally flings out clumsily towards Patrick, a voice gargles from my mouth automatically, "I'm good, just shouldn't have been moving that fast, got a bit lightheaded cutting through that thick brush, shit seemed to carry on a mile uphill."

Except that wasn't my voice it was Gabe's, as was the body I currently inhabited. I am not sure how I hadn't noticed before, the classic cameo jacket should have been a dead giveaway.

"That's why we hadn't found this place until now. The ridge up to here is too high, who would put that much effort in to cut through that deep shit. Getting back will be much easier at least." Now take some slow deep breaths, it's better than panting, will calm that shake while you come into focus."

My sight moves with Gabe's head to a field of tall yellowed grass. In the distance were a row of old barns, trailers, and piles of old cars like an auto salvage. Some looked stripped of various rusted scrap metal and tires, all no longer ridable let alone drivable.

Rows of tractor tires stacked a dozen high scattered the layout like mini walls forming a maze around the sprawling ranch. The scrapped metal walls were accompanied by random trailers and sheds throughout the sprawling property.

Patrick's voice right next to me, "Now hear me out, I was just thinking. We are still on the outskirts of the woods. With the overcast and rain about to pick up, we are hidden, no one is going to come outside those tin shacks, let alone catch sight of us. I will move to the right towards that huge barn. You sweep left and see what is behind that main house and see if we can meet in the middle and figure out our infiltration move. If we miss each other or shit hits the fan, we meet back here in twenty, sound good?"